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The Children's Museum of Houston
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: Museum District
1500 Binz St
Houston, TX 77004
(713) 522-1138
1500 Binz St
Houston, TX 77004
(713) 522-1138
- Hours:
Tue-Wed. 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Thu. 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
19 reviews for The Children's Museum of Houston
Move over kiddos and make way for me! I took my son and nephew here for Halloween and I actually believe I enjoyed it more than they did. Having lots of little monsters run around in even cuter monster costumes was a plus. My favorite was a toddler skunk who's tail wiggled with every step!
We hit up Kidtropolis, Power Play, Water Works, Ecostation, into the many little rooms of How It Works. They had activities table set up through out the Kid's Hall in front of the Cafe, and then ended up back out at the Waterworks per the kids request.
My favorite had to be the Waterworks. They had a giant bowl that eventually tips over and just splashes water like a mini waterfall. There was a wave maker, and little "streams" with boats and tubes for the younger kids to play with. After 3 hours I really appreciated the many benches and shade they had throughout the exhibit.
The kids really enjoyed the mini tornado maker as well as the giant light up game pad. We tried to look for spiders in the Ecostation but didn't spot any. However they did had little chicks in a incubation dome that was precious. The motion commotion was also another favorite of the kids.
They've already made requests to come back again with permission to invite friends because they can't wait to show of this great place I took them to on Halloween! I had fun, the kids have fun, what's not to like about this place?!?
I've been to Children's Museums in Philly, Atlanta, Brooklyn and Manhattan and this is by far the best one yet.
Everything was organized and clean. I thought the exhibits were really thought out well.
The toddlers area was great and had lots of stuff for them to do. We visited every part of the museum (even the ones that aren't age appropriate for my 2 year old just to look around) and I can't wait for my daughter to be older to be able to do some of the other things they have there (like the tower of power!).
One of the most awesome parts? Flow Works outside. It's the best water exhibit I've seen. Awesome. My daughter loved it! I loved it!
When we are in town, we will definitely be making a trip back here!
I was soo happy to see they finally upgraded this place! I remember when it was all old and junky! I started taking Cameron there a few years ago and he's loved it ever since. But when we moved back from Baltimore, we went and loved the renovations! Its a completely different place now. I remember pulling up and being amazed at the vivrant colors of the building, and the huge murals! He loves the big multi level maze/play gym, thats where he spends a majority of his time. My favorites are the pretend "Main St' exibit with the bank, restaurant (my fav), grocery store and the news broadcasting station! I thought it was such a great idea to add the outdoor water park! Its so refreshing to have the kids run around in a secured area! At times it gets a little busy and the kids run amuck and scream. I get a little frenzied with all those kids! They freak me out a little bit, but I love that Cam has a great time here. Every Thursdays 5pm-8pm the museum offers Free Family Nights. And you better believe that is the only time we come! LOL! I told you I was cheap!
NOTE- Every year for Halloween, this is a great place to bring the kids, they hand out toys and the kids can run around in their costumes!
I was invited to preview the Museum's expansion this past weekend and can pretty much tell you the Children's Museum of Houston is a million times better than ever before! I seriously spent three hours playing in the NEW wing alone with my eyes filled with amazement and jaw dropped to the floor. There is so much to see and do!
One of my favorite new exhibits is Kidtropolis - a mini kid city run by kids! Every kiddo gets their own Chase ATM card filled with 60 bucks to run around town. A few highlights from Kidtropolis - You can be a vet and diagnose sick animals, you can be a anchor-kid and deliver the daily news, run for mayor, solve a crime, be an artist and much, much more.
This is just a fraction of the all new space, there's also the basement that is reserved for Cyber Chase and Invention Convention. And don't miss out on climbing the Power Tower!
Seriously, my review can do it no justice... you have to experience it for yourself. Try going this Saturday, 3/14/09 for FREE from 10am to 8pm or check out my flickr - http://flickr.com/phot...
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/8/2008
"Come one, come all!" is probably the Museum's motto! Any size, shape, color or age is welcome here… Read more »
So I don't begin to claim to know anything about entertainment for children since hubby and I do not yet have any kids. But, this past weekend one of my college roommates was in town with her husband and 18mo old twins.
Friday afternoon we spent a couple of hours down at the Children's Museum of Houston. We weren't certain how appropriate it would be for children who are as young as the twins, but we gave it a go anyway.
All I have to say is not only were the twins thoroughly entertained, but so were we! The amusement that we received was well worth the $7 admission charge for adults.
The first place we went once we were inside was upstairs to the 'Tot Spot.' I honestly think the twins could have stayed in this area for many hours. It is the type of place where you can put your child down and just let them go. When you go in, be prepared to either remove your shoes or put covers over your shoes (which I thought was great since kids are all over the floor, etc in there).
We noticed a large structure outside with water spouting out everywhere so we went to check it out. Wow. Be prepared to get wet. Everything in this entire place is "hands on", including this water exhibit. After about 30 minutes of playing around there and once the twins were soaked, we moved on. I must note that my hubby especially enjoyed the water exhibit as well. There was one point when I was playing with the kids and looked around and hubby was gone. After a little bit I saw him on the other side watching kids and smiling really big. It was great.
There was a lot we did not get to see mostly because of the young age of the kids we were with. We walked through 'Kidtropolis' and found it so great! There were all these kids running a town just their size. Everything from a bank, grocery store, cafe, news station, to a town hall where you can go vote was there. All run by kids.
When we, the adults, were getting hungry and ready to go they did not like it at all. They would rather us have starved. Tears were shed when we left.
One thing to note: The parking garage across the street is somewhere between $5-7. (I'm not positive because we didn't park there) If you are only planning on being there a couple of hours it is worth it to just park in the metered parking around the museum. There seemed to be plenty available.
Don't get me wrong, the museum isn't horrible, but it is seriously understaffed,poorly maintained, and kinda dirty....my son really loved a few of the exhibits, especially the outdoor water attractions and power play area, but compared to other childrens museums we have been to it wasn't very good. Overall it would be really great if they just had more staff cleaning, helping the kids, and doing repairs on all the broken activities....P.S. do not go on the free thursdays(i think 5-8pm) unless you want to be seriously squished by massive crowds of people!
I've been to a lot of museums - both as a dad and as an inquisitive nerd. And when it comes to children's museums, this is the best one I've seen so far. It's a great thing to be able to boast that we have this in Houston. The only pitfall of this place is the crowds if you go on a summer day (camps) or rainy weekend (lots to do inside).
Pricing is cheap to get in ($5 per person) and they have a free evening on Thursdays from 5pm to 8pm. I also noticed recently a coupon for a discount equivalent to a gallon of gas (nice promo idea). Parking can be free if you park on neighboring streets and walk a block or two or you can park across the street in the pay lot. There is a cool water feature for the kiddos to play with in the courtyard (sail boats down the waterfall!) and plenty to do - almost all of it hands-on. And we all know kids can't keep their hands off stuff.
Boom goes the dynamite! Wait, let me say it again. Boom goes the dynamite cuz the dynamite goes Boom!
Well, considering the fact that I have been to The Children's Museum 3 times in the past 2 weeks including twice during spring break, and I am a totally freak about crowds and lines and unattended children. This is testament that the newly remodeled facilities are TOTALLY AWESOME, they are rad. When I walked in the place and saw the new "Power Tower" I literally misted up a bit. I can foresee how much fun my 6 year-old will have climbing the thing. Sadly, the line was obscene both days he came along. So, he has not yet had a chance to become king of that mountain. The kidtropolis area is pretty cool. It is fun for both toddlers and older kids. I love the ATM card and corresponding pay checks. This has to be helpful in teaching the kids about work and pay and savings, etc... The outside area with its water works play is also great for both toddlers and older kids. My oldest really liked playing with the part that resembled the Panama Canal with locking gates and channels.
Only negative I have is the new Tot Spot. I preferred the old one. The new one is just a big open room on the second floor. There are some cool new additions to the room, but I think having different sections like in the old tot spot was cooler.
Come to the Children's Museum. I guarantee you that you (or at least your monster children) will have a blast.
I love coming here! I'm 21 and this place is awesome. Maybe I love this place because I didn't come here when I was smaller. Eh, I'm not bitter.
I went here with my best friend and we loved it. We paid for parking but I'm pretty sure you can find parking on the streets. I'm just a horrible parallel parker. When you enter, you are surrounded by kid and adults chasing them. Because we didn't have kids with us, we had to surrender our IDs so be aware of that if you're coming with no kids.
There are so many activities to do even if your not a kid and lots of pictures that you can take in here. We went to the exhibit with the different countries, and we took so many pictures of us in there so our friends would of thought we went to Mexico. Yes, we fooled a few.
I learned a lot from coming here. Maybe because they dumb it down. Eh, I'm glad. We spent about 3 hours here and I could probably spend the whole day here if I had kids. Hmm... in a few years hopefully.
This place has more than enough potential to be AMAZING! But it isn't. Mainly because they do not change or properly maintain their displays/exhibits. When you charge admission for a venue isn't that what the monies collected should go to first - keeping the place in perfect working order so people come back then worrying about paying staff members?!
It's a lot of fun don't get me wrong, but it's over crowded and children running into and over one another with little to no parental supervision at all. Having fun is one thing Reenacting "The Lord of the Flies" is something else. I have watched older children that honestly have no business in the building stress things until they did break just for the joy of it. Why did I not say anything? Because in this day and age when you correct someone else's child you can find yourself slapped with a frivolous lawsuit.
List are put out annually of what the best/favourite children's museums across the country are. This one has never even received and honourable mention. Like the MNSH this place could be *GREAT* but clearly the management has their priorities a bit out of whack.
I can't believe some people think this place needs a makeover!! We went back today with 5 kids (ranging from 5 to 11 yrs old) and they all loved it. On a rainy day, a $5 admission for hours and hours of play is definitely worth it!!
We started in the huge gameroom. The activities range from pulley chairs, to hands-on texture/density/leverage machines. The room adjacent has a mock tv station, KIDTV, were the kids can dress up and get behind the anchor desk or work the cameras. We went in the long, large hallway for face painting and to make their own kites, before breaking to Kids' Cafe for lunch.
The Kids' Cafe has LOTS of options, from the traditional cheeseburger and fries, grilled cheese, and hotdogs, to fruit cups, deli sandwiches, milk and other nutritious offerings. Feeding all 6 of us was only $35!!
We spent another couple hours in the back room, which are very nicely decorated and separated. The first room had puzzles, funny hats, and mirrors. Another room was "Mother Earth" green room which had a great game where the kiddos had to remove the pollutants (brown pieces) from the makeshift river and rainwater (blue pieces). Kids were reading the information while playing and learning!
We didn't get to visit the renovated gardens due to the rain but it looked beautiful!!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/2/2007
Love love love the Children's Museum. Oh and my kids do too! Plus, there's plenty to keep both my… Read more »
This place is in some serious need of a makeover. I have all these happy memories of coming here as a child and really enjoying myself. I took my little cousin here when I was visiting a week or so ago, and I was aghast at the state the museum's in. There's a very disjointed feel as you move from exhibit to exhibit; some are very old and worn, and others are old and not too worn. However, there certainly aren't any new exhibits to captivate the mind. I also got the sense that a lot of the interactive exhibits are rarely cleaned; the small enclosed areas (like the miniature Mexican bus) really smell of body odor, and you can almost see the germs coating every surface. Disgusting.
I don't know why they're bothering with renovating the gardens outside when they should really be spending the money on exhibits within, especially since no one in their right mind would sit around in the blazing hot sun anyway. They should come up with more original and fun exhibits for the kids or at least staff more enthusiastic people to interact with the kids on existing displays. Also, for the self-service interactive displays, they should really make sure that the supplies and tools are replenished every so often.
This place is a hoot!! I took my mom there and even she had a great time!
Must do if you have kids.
This is a very fun place to go with your kids or even if you are a kid at heart. I go at least once a week with my 22-month old. We have been going to the "Tot Spot" since he was a few months old. The Tot Spot is for three and under and has activities for crawlers, sitters, walkers and even the youngest who can just lay there and giggle at the ceiling! They have a great small infant section that has fans with ribbons and dangly toys and mirrors. I know some new moms who would spend all day here when their babies were new just for the company of the other moms and the feeling that they've done something productive for their babies!
They have regularly scheduled activities in the Tot Spot including the Toddler Takeover which I think is on Thursday morning but check the website to be sure. This is great because a lot of parents show up and there is story time and singing.
The regular part of the museum is great too, lots of fun activities including a farm to market setup with a cow you can "milk", and live baby chicks! There is a kid sized play grocery store which is a big hit too. My son loves the chicks! There are seasonal exhibits, the last one we saw was the interactive Chagall exhibit, hard to explain but very cool, though I don't know how much the kids enjoyed it.
Be sure you check the website before your visit to check on what activities are planned for that day. There are great presentations in the theater, as well as puppet shows and face painting in the lobby, you just need to check ahead for times.
I gave this four stars because they tore down the outside play area and are expanding so there is a lot less to do right now. I also was told that the new addition would not be open until 2009 which is unfair since we got our membership right before the tear down and didn't know. The outside portion was really fun on sunny days; hopefully the new outdoor section will be just as good. I also hear they are significantly expanding the Tot Spot.
Came here when I was like wee tall - so don't remember much but I remember there were a lot of activities that you can do.
Finger painting or something like that!
This is a marvelous place! I took my granddaughter here on a really, really hot day when the Houston Zoo was not the place to be. Having only been to one other "children's museum" ages ago and not being that impressed; I wasn't sure how this would be. But, it's wonderful! They have so many rooms set up with remarkable hands-on exhibits that are interactive and entertaining. There is plenty to keep adult minds occupied while the kids are having fun too.
My granddaughter especially enjoyed driving the real 1960-something Ford Mustang (Born to Be Wild plays in a loop the whole time you are in it). Fun to watch all of the moms rocking out when their kids were in the driver's seat! LOL!
We both loved the telephone exhibit. Being 3, she loved playing with all of the phones. I had a great time finding all the old family phones (including my old Princess!) on the phone man somewhere.
The farm to table exhibits were extensive and provided opportunities for play at many levels. Heck, their little grocery store was stocked with more food items than I see in some real stores! They even had more check-outs.
I had a blast reading about all of the child inventors and seeing their photos that were on display in a room that had Legos, Kinex and many other similar toys to play with. There were many areas of that room where older children could become very inspired with creativity to explore new ways of doing things.
All-in-all, we spent a nice, air conditioned afternoon and had a great time for 3-4 hours. I am only giving 4 stars since we did not eat there at all and that would factor in had we spent all day. But, I will say that the whole place was clean and the staff was helpful and friendly and seemed to be enjoying themselves. I would definitely go back.
The Children's Museum of Houston is rated among the best in the country and for good reason. With a $5 admission per person, you can spend hours with the little ones in your life in air conditioned entertainment.
The sprawling museum is filled with positive and intellectually stimulating exhibits for kids of all ages. This place has filled every square foot with hands on exhibits that make museum going fun, creative an electrifying.
When you want to escape the crowds climbing through the multiple levels of games and gadgets, you can go outside for even more entertainment. A water feature comes with floating items and nets for kids to splash and play. There's also a tea house, a rail car and arts and crafts rooms full of masterpieces just waiting for their little artists.
Inside, you can grab some food and make a day of it. Cheaper and more fulfilling than sitting in a movie for a few hours - The Children's Museum is a great stop any time of year when you have little ones to entertain and enlighten.
I love this place!! The last time I went for myself was in elementary school and I really enjoyed it. But I've also gone with kids I babysat and they always had a blast. There's always so many crafts and activities to do. My 4 year old nephew LOVES coming here. You can even pretend to be in a grocery store & bank... they have checkout lines, fake money, and many more.
Just went here today with my little brother. There were lots of halloween festivities going on, including a little trick or treating (which my little bro was all about). There were lots of great activities for the kids, it was very interactive. My one complaint would have been that it seemed smaller than I imagined, however they packed a lot into the space they had. Definitely would recommend to anyone with kids!
